LBCC and OSU Sign Reverse Transfer Agreement

OSU President Ed Ray, left, and LBCC President Greg Hamann
sign a Memorandom of Understanding to implement the
Reverse Transfer agreement, the first of its kind in the state.

LBCC and Oregon State University took the first steps today to implement a program to award transfer students with a “reverse transfer” associate’s degree.

The program, known as the Reverse Transfer Degree program, will allow students who are dually-enrolled through the LBCC/OSU Degree Partnership program to be awarded an associate’s degree from LBCC, even though they did not finish their degree here.

Here’s how it works: Say you’re an LBCC student taking classes at both institutions, and you decide that you have enough LBCC credits to fully attend OSU. You accomplished what you set out to do at LBCC, but you did not actually “finish” your two-year degree.

Academic advisors at OSU and LBCC will carefully track your progress, and when you have met the requirements for an LBCC associate degree, you will be awarded the degree.  

How will this benefit you as a transfer student? There are several advantages to receiving your associate degree. Say you are struggling to complete your four-year degree. Then, unexpectedly, you receive your associate’s degree from LBCC. Not only can this encourage you to continue, it can also help you qualify for scholarships and financial aid.

“For students who are struggling to afford and/or complete the four-year degree, unexpectedly receiving their associates degree has been shown to be an enormously effective inducement to continue,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “In fact, it appears to be the most effective inducement. It also reinforces for all potential transfer students the value, and the possibility, of pursuing and achieving the four-year degree.”

Receiving your two-year degree also can help you with internship opportunities and summer and school year employment.

The reverse agreement also benefits LBCC, which will receive credit for the degree completion, reflecting the investment of time, resources and support that the college has provided.

The Reverse Transfer pilot program is the first of its kind in Oregon, and is modeled after a successful program between El Paso Community College and the University of Texas El Paso.

The Reverse Transfer Degree program will serve as an extension to the successful LBCC/OSU Degree Partnership program, which was established in 1998 and has seen more than 4,000 students transfer to OSU. 

LBCC President Greg Hamann said the agreement will help students achieve their graduation goals, and enhances the strong ties already in place between the two schools.

“By working together, OSU and LBCC create an opportunity neither of us alone could do,” Hamann said. “So much of our future depends on us working together for the good of our students.”

And this is only the first step. LBCC and OSU will partner with Lebanon High School at the end of August to provide a program that allows Lebanon students to complete high school and earn LBCC and OSU degrees on a compressed timetable, which will significantly reduce their costs.

For both programs, OSU will make available scholarships for students with limited financial means to help make higher education possible through the university’s Bridge to Success financial aid program.